Spring Equinox: Day 4

Our fourth day of celebrating the upcoming Spring Equinox, and we decided to head out for a picnic.

Picnic at Haughton Dale

We went for a picnic in Haughton Dale today. It was nice to wander round, looking for signs of spring in the woods. We saw a lot of blossom, heard a lot of bird song, and then accidentally watched some frogs having sex. Spring is truly in the air!

Seasonal Tea

Took a slightly meditative moment to enjoy spring in the woods with a seasonal tea. This one was Cream Egg tea from Bird and Blend.

Spring Equinox: Day 3

Another day of celebrating the beginning of spring, and today was a bit of a busy one. Lots of seasonal fun today!

Crumpsall Park Spring Equinox Walk

I started the day by leading a Spring Equinox walk for Friends of Crumpsall Park. The sun was shining, and it was warmer than it's been, so it really did feel like spring was in the air.

Blossom Watch

On the way home from the park I saw two beautiful cherry blossom trees in bloom. They look like candy floss!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special

Today was the first ever Spring Equinox Special on Hannah's Bookshelf, my weekly radio show on North Manchester FM. I talked about spring folklore, played some spring-themed music, and then shared some original Equinox-inspired bite-size short stories by contributors to the show. I also made some more white chocolate and Parma Violets cupcakes for the volunteers at the centre where our studio is based.

Chocolate Popcorn

Okay, this one's advertised as an Easter treat, but as far as I'm concerned anything with a bunny rabbit on the packet is perfect for the Spring Equinox! Little snack for after my radio show... Trio of Chocolate Popcorn from Joe and Seph's!

Ostara Wax Melts

We bought a new wax diffuser last year, but we couldn't use it at Imbolc in case it aggravated the horrible coughs we got with one of the many colds we've had so far this year. But we've fired it up for spring, and this season we've got bunny rabbit shaped Black Plum and Rhubarb melts from Mysteria Melts.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Candlelight

Going to see a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Piccadilly Sinfonietta is now an annual tradition for us. It was part of our Imbolc celebrations for the past two years, but this year their performance at St Ann's Church fell during our Spring Equinox celebrations. It felt like this made more sense, as the Four Seasons does start with spring after all!

Hot Cross Bun Pie

We stopped off at McDonald's on the way home from the concert. Again, this seems like it might have been intended as an Easter special, but I think a Hot Cross Bun pie is seasonal enough for the Spring Equinox.

Spring Equinox: Day 2

Our second day of celebrating the Spring Equinox, and this one was a pretty important one. It was our tenth wedding anniversary!

Spring Cupcakes

I made some spring-themed cupcakes for a meeting I was running at work today. They were flavoured with white chocolate and Parma Violets, and decorated with daisies. And yes, the Parma Violets were leftover trick-or-treat sweets from last Halloween. I'm continuing my plan to use them all to decorate seasonal cakes before Halloween comes around again.

Wedding Cake Tea

As it was our anniversary, my tea break drink of choice was Wedding Cake by Bird and Blend.

Wedding Anniversary Dinner

We went out for dinner at Croma in Prestwich with our parents tonight to celebrate our anniversary. I took the personalized topper from our wedding cake as a little reminder of our day all those years ago.

Wedding Anniversary Gifts

It was our tin anniversary, so we both got each other tin gifts. Unsurprisingly, we both went with Cornish tin (as it's also ten years since our first lovely holiday to Lizard). As we were both thinking about Cornwall, I also got Rob a surprise delivery of his favourite pasties from Ann's Pasties (they're not on the picture as they were in the freezer by the time I got home).

Spring Equinox: Day 1

It's time to celebrate the start of spring! We've got a week of Spring Equinox-y fun planned before the big day next week, and (fingers crossed!) we're not hampered by horrible colds like we were at Imbolc.

Blossom Watch

Apparently blossom season has started quite early this year, as a result of a generally mild winter and a comparatively warm February. It's still pretty to see though. This pink cherry blossom is in the garden at the Pankhurst Centre (where I work).

Spring Tea Break

We were both at work all day today, so we didn't have any proper celebrations planned together. I made sure I had a spring-themed tea break though, with Candy Floss at the Fair tea (from Bird and Blend) and a mini egg cookie.

Dim Sum

I'm a bit in love with dim sum, and now I'm a bit in love with Ding Dong Dim Sum, who do a fantastic vegan selection. It's all colourful enough to sort of look like it's spring-themed, but the custard buns definitely look just right for the season!

Events in March 2024

Virtual Writing Retreat
Sunday 10th March
10.30–5.00pm
Hannah's Bookshelf
I'm hosting an online writing retreat for creative writers with writing exercises and structured writing sessions
Members Event

Spring Equinox Walk in the Park
Saturday 16th March
11.00–12noon
Friends of Crumpsall Park
I'll be leading a sociable walk in the park to enjoy nature and the changing seasons
Booking Link

Hannah's Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special
Saturday 16th March
2.00–4.00pm
Hannah's Bookshelf / North Manchester FM
I'm hosting a special seasonal edition of my regular radio show on North Manchester FM, including Spring Equinox-themed flash fiction
Submission Link

Spring Equinox Walk in the Woods
Monday 18th March
5.30–6.30pm
Friends of Bailey's Wood
I'll be leading a sociable walk in the woods to enjoy the changing seasons
Booking Link

Bailey's Wood Spring Equinox Walk and Talk
Wednesday 20th March
11.00–12.30pm
Friends of Bailey's Wood
I'll be leading a gentle, social walk in the woods with a Spring Equinox theme
Booking Link

Spring Equinox Poetry in the Park
Wednesday 20th March
1.00–4.00pm
Castlerea House
I'm running a seasonal poetry and storytelling workshop session in the park for residents at Castlerea care home
Private Event

Hannah's Bookshelf Live Poetry Special
Saturday 23rd March
2.00–4.00pm
Hannah's Bookshelf / North Manchester FM
I'm hosting my annual live poetry radio show on North Manchester FM, with performances from 12 poets
Submission Link

Easter Stories
Wednesday 27th March
2.00-4.00pm
Castlerea House
I'm running a seasonal poetry and storytelling workshop session for residents at Castlerea care home
Private Event

Interested in booking me for an event? Click here to find out more.

Performers Wanted for Live Poetry Special 2024

Want to perform your poetry on the radio?

The annual Hannah's Bookshelf Live Poetry Special is back!

On Saturday 23rd March, Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM will be broadcasting its annual Live Poetry Special. And once again, I’d like to invite poets and spoken word performers to get involved and perform their work on the show.

I’ll be inviting poets into the North Manchester FM studio to perform their work live on the show from the studio in Harpurhey! Whether you’re a veteran performer or new to reading your work, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line via my website, tweet me or message me on Facebook if you’d like to perform or would like more information about how to take part. Slots are limited, and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Performance slots are 6 minutes long.

The Hannah’s Bookshelf Live Poetry Special will be going out on North Manchester FM on Saturday 23rd March at 2-4pm. It will be broadcast on 106.6FM (in the North Manchester area) and online (for the rest of the world).

My Year in Books 2024: February

Time for this month's list, but it's not a very long with this time. I read two novels for pleasure in February, but I guess that's better than none.

My reviews for this month are below, and if you're interested my other post from this year is here: January

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes (2023)

This month began with a library book, and one with (surprise, surprise) an intriguing premise. Maya lives in Boston with her boyfriend, but one night she sees a video that brings back memories of a traumatic event from her past, so she travels back to her hometown to make sense of it all. That might sound a bit pedestrian, but there are some things you should probably know. The traumatic event was that Maya’s best friend Aubrey dropped down dead without explanation, after talking to Maya’s boyfriend Frank. And the video that she saw was of the same thing happening to another girl… and Maya recognized the man she was talking to as Frank. Another important thing to know is that Maya is going through benzodiazepine withdrawal at the start of the story, and she’s self-medicating with alcohol. Maya returns to her mother’s house to try and make sense of these events and her own unreliable memories, and to prove that Frank had something to do with Aubrey’s death. By doing this, Maya also reconnects with her family history and rediscovers the book that her Guatemalan father was writing at the time of his death (which happened before Maya was born). There’s quite a lot going on here, and some parts of the book are really compelling. I’m not sure the Frank storyline was really for me, though, as for all the intrigue, the explanation was a bit simplistic and far-fetched. Maya’s family relationships and background were much more engaging.

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (2022)

I really enjoyed Foley’s previous novels The Hunting Party and The Guest List, so I was looking forward to this one. Sadly, I’m not sure it quite lived up to its promise. The book is (funnily enough) set in a weird old apartment building in Paris. Jess – a woman with a rather messy lifestyle – arrives at the building to stay with her half-brother Ben. But when she gets to Ben’s apartment, he’s nowhere to be seen. After a while, Jess starts to suspect that something bad has happened to Ben. The book is actually told through multiple perspectives, so we learn more about the other inhabitants of the apartment block, as well as their relationships with Ben. Unfortunately, the big reveals that are to come are quite obvious early on, so it becomes a case of waiting to see when Jess will catch up. I enjoyed the setting – which I expected to, given the author’s previous work – but the characters were quite difficult to deal with. It wasn’t so much that they were unlikeable, though they all were, but rather that I struggled to understand the motivations for their behaviours. The final explanation put some of the weird behaviour into perspective, but there were multiple minor weirdnesses that were never quite explained. It felt a bit like the characters had to behave oddly in order to keep the mystery going. If they’d all just tried to behave normally, Jess would have figured out what happened to Ben a lot sooner.

Spring Equinox Stories Wanted for Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

Submit your seasonal flash fiction to be played on Hannah’s Bookshelf this March!

Can you tell a seasonal story in just 3 minutes? Want to have your work played on the radio? This month, I’m looking for seasonal (Spring) flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 16th March, I’ll be hosting the first Hannah’s Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special, and as part of my seasonal special, I’ll be playing a selection of my favourite 3-minute stories on the show (broadcast on FM and on digital). Want to be part of it? Submit a recording of your seasonally inflected story (maximum 3 minutes) by midnight on Monday 11th March.

All genres welcome – be they cosy, romantic, scary or sad. The only rules are that stories must be your own original work, have some connection to the season, and be in English (the language of the broadcast). And please ease off the swears – stories have to be radio friendly! All you need is a microphone and a story – once you’re ready to submit your story, click on the ‘Start Recording’ button on my website to record your story and submit it. Remember to enter your name and email address when submitting your story.

If you aren’t able to submit via a recording and would like another method of taking part, please message via my website for more information.

Please share this call with anyone who you think might be interested – I’d like to cast the net as wide as possible. My favourite seasonal stories will be broadcast on the Hannah’s Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special at 2pm on Saturday 16th March, on digital radio and 106.6FM.

Imbolc: Day 7

It's Groundhog Day! And the final day of our (slightly muted) Imbolc celebrations this year.

Imbolc Dinner

We had our traditional Imbolc dinner tonight... vegetarian meatloaf with spring onion mash, followed by winterberry crumble.

Imbolc Gifts

After dinner, we swapped our traditional Imbolc gifts. We'll save these whiskies up throughout the year, and then enjoy them in December.

Groundhog Day

Time for the seasonal film of choice. It is Groundhog Day after all.

And so the wheel of the year turns... we'll be celebrating again (fingers crossed) at the Spring Equinox.

Imbolc: Day 6

I was in London for a training session today, and while it was a very enjoyable and interesting session, it wasn't really very seasonal. I did make sure Rob and I had a seasonal treat afterwards though!

Imbolc Bun

This isn't technically marketed as an Imbolc treat, but whatever. Raspberry choux bun with added white chocolate winter people (from a reduced-to-clear Christmas selection box... 'tis the season).

Imbolc: Day 5

I think I've just accepted that I'm not going to recovered enough from the horror-cold for big celebrations (and poor Rob certainly isn't), so I guess this Imbolc is all about the little things. I can deal with that - the little things are meant to be the ones that matter anyway.

Castlerea Imbolc Stories

I was at Castlerea Care Home for a seasonal storytelling session with the residents this afternoon. We had some Imbolc-themed poetry, a lot of conversation, a bit of music, and snowballs, iced gems and cream soda! After the session finished, the staff and residents surprised me with a packet of sunflower seeds, so that I've got a project for when winter turns into spring.

Imbolc: Day 4

Another quiet day of recovering from the horror-cold. I was at work all day, so no time or energy for big celebrations.

Imbolc Tea Break

Even though I couldn't manage any big celebrations, I still had a bit of a (sort of) seasonal tea break at work by treating myself to a cinnamon bun.